Moving forward

Recently a composer was having a premiere of his latest piece performed in a major music hall when the orchestra suddenly shut down and packed up right in the middle of the piece to keep from going into overtime. Apparently the orchestra’s union had given the members instructions to do so. Today budgets are under stress and funding has been cut by cash-strapped organizations. People have many choices from which to select their preferred listening venue.

Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell, world-renowned violin virtuoso, has made a profound statement about music today. “We need to keep finding ways of reaching young people in environments that make them feel comfortable, without altering the music,” Bell said. “We don’t need to add drum beats to great classical works to reach younger people. That’s not the point at all.” He continued, “They can connect with great classical music, but sometimes it means finding the right venue, or the right time of day, or the right way to present it where they feel embraced. We should always be experimenting with things like that.” (See article by James Chute/U-T)

We hope you will come and experience our exciting new venue this summer. The setting for the inaugural Washington Music Festival is a beautiful ten acre oceanfront lavender farm with a replica of George and Martha Washington’s beloved Mount Vernon as its iconic focal point.